New Delhi
8 November 2010
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh firmly but politely stood his ground on talks
with Pakistan saying dialogue cannot take place when the "terror machine is as active as
ever before". Speaking at a joint press interaction with US President Barack Obama, Dr
Singh pointed out that outsourcing has in fact helped to improve the productive capacity
and productivity of American industries. He reached out to the American people and
reassured them that India is not in the business of stealing their jobs.
He said India is committed to engaging Pakistan and resolving outstanding issues
between them, "including the word 'K'. We are not afraid of that." However, he was quick
to add that "it is our request that you cannot simultaneously [be] talking and at the same
time the terror machine is as active as ever before. Once Pakistan moves away from the
terror-induced coercion, we will be very happy to engage productively with Pakistan to
resolve all outstanding issues."
For his part, Obama rejected Pakistan's all-or-nothing stand on talks with India saying
that dialogue need not start from "the particular flashpoint"; instead, both sides could
begin with confidence-building measures. He also said all nations in the region need to
work together to ensure there are no safe havens for terrorists. Obama iterated it in his
speech to Parliament later in the day, in which he said the US will continue to insist to
Pakistan's leaders that terrorist safe havens within their borders are unacceptable and
that the terrorists behind the Mumbai attacks be brought to justice.
Treading carefully keeping in mind the sensitivities involved, Obama also said the US
cannot provide solutions to the "longstanding dispute" between India and Pakistan but it
will be happy to play "any role" if the two countries so desire. He commended Dr Singh
for his personal commitment to reducing tensions with Pakistan and for his sincere and
relentless pursuit of peace.
Prime Minister Singh's remarks came the day after Obama, while addressing young
people in Mumbai, sought to nudge India to resume talks with Pakistan. In doing so, Dr
Singh deftly lobbed the ball back in Pakistan's court. It elicited an immediate reaction
from Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who qualified Pakistan's
willingness to engage with India by saying that terrorists have spread their tentacles far
and wide and therefore, the world cannot be selective towards a particular country.
What Dr Singh left unsaid was that the US could leverage its influence with Pakistan to
get the latter to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism directed against India. New Delhi
will be hoping that Obama's words -- "don't take my word for it, look at our actions",
which he used to underscore the breadth and depth of the India-US ties -- turn out to be
prophetic in shaping Washington's policy towards Islamabad.
The subtext of the Singh-Obama tandem was that India and the US have decided to work
as "equal partners" in a strategic relationship that holds the potential of decisively
influencing regional stability and world peace, and it would not have escaped notice in
key world capitals.
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